Telstra yesterday tried to distance the announcement from the recommendations of the inquiry. However, Alston claimed the investment would "contribute significantly" to redressing the unavailability of ADSL in many parts of Australia caused by Telstra's deployment of Remote Integrated Multiplexes (RIMs), which the Estens Inquiry indicated needed to be resolved. RIM technology allows more telephone lines to be connected to the one exchange, but in doing so reduces the bandwidth available to each line, preventing the deployment of broadband services.
Alston said the extension of ADSL-enabling technology to more than 100 extra exchanges by June next year and the roll-out of broadband enabled RIMs to new housing developments would help more Australians access high-speed Internet services.
Senator Lundy, the Shadow Minister for Communications, is unimpressed by the upgrades, pointing out it will raise the level of ADSL capable telephone exchanges to only 900 out of 5,200. She said the rural and regional Australia, which the Telstra investment aims to help, will continue to miss out.
"Often the only broadband Internet service available to rural and regional Australians is Satellite Internet which ... is significantly more expensive than ADSL broadband, costing customers between AU$600 to AU$800 to install, unless they happen to lie in the Extended Zone Region," said Lundy in a statement.
"These kinds of inadequacies in the network show that Telstra services will never be up to scratch in the bush."
Broadband news in context
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